Tropical laminate from Wilsonart — “Lush Jungle”

Everywhere I turn these days, I see tropical decor and colors. Sure, it’s summer, but I think the trend is more deeply rooted: It’s very 2017, and hooray for us, very retro, too. Wilsonart also spotted the trend, and has jumped on board with their “Lush Jungle” laminate. It’s part of their print-to-order Virtual Design Library, which makes it easier to offer lower-volume laminate designs to selective market niches. (The Retro Renovation® by Wilsonart laminates are also in the Virtual Design Library.)

And as you can see, laminates aren’t just for countertops — you can use them vertically. I’ve been noodling how to fit some into my Mahalo Lounge, but I already have acres of tropical floral going on in my pinch pleats. Still. Hmmmm.

Comments

I like this one as much as Wilsonart’s daisy pattern. And I think it would go perfectly well with my tropical print shower curtain.
I always loved to see pictures of the vertical application on the walls of the Wilson house.

With the continuing development of new laminate patterns, I have to wonder what the target demographic is.

In the US, it has to be the commercial market, because I can’t remember the last time I saw new construction in this region that had laminate countertops, and I look at real estate listings daily.

This includes rental units in all but the poorest neighborhoods, in which some of the recent renovations have standard post-formed countertops–the ones with the integrated backsplash and curved front lip.

In my region anyway, it’s cheaper to get an entry level granite with no particular seam matching than it is to get a custom laminate top.

My kitchen isn’t all that old and it has prefab laminate top, but it also has white melamine cabinets of the quality people put in garages and the kitchen was probably demolished the first day, cabinets put in the second, and done by the end of the week, so it’s a relative outlier. When it gets its badly-needed renovation, laminate will be part of the picture, somewhere, no granite.

When you were developing your laminate line, did they talk about where most of their product is headed?

I have wondered about this as well. It’s not like these patterns are on a ring of laminate sample chips that someone can flip through and say oh I like this one (that’s if they are even seeking out laminate).

I can see this in…a SHE SHED! Even one sheet cut in half to cover the top of the wall…
I was researching the different laminate offerings for suggestions for a 1958 Liberty travel trailer and, of course, got lost in all the possibilities (you’ve been warned!). The original bathroom has mint green with gold cross-hatches(?) With the proliferation of trailer glamping re-vamping, here would be a market. Or vertical laminates in a kids’ bathroom, laundry room, mudroom. There’s a “thing” up here in WI that “texturizes” (slubbing?) the drywall – what a nightmare to keep clean!
Can you clarify if these Virtual Design Library laminates will available to regular people or only for designers and the construction industry? I’m not understanding “selective market niches”. Even if some of us could only afford one sheet to be used judiciously, would these not be available to the general public?
Lastly, I’ve only started watching certain cable channels focused on “making old houses habitable”…can anyone comment on an uptick in renovating period appropriate for MCm’s?

Very nice, but only in on a small area. I can see this in a pantry area, or a bar or on a backspash in a small kitchen, but not as a countertop in a large area, too much in-your-face.

That’s a good post by ineffablespace above. As they noted, laminate seems to have so little appeal nowadays. I posted this here before, but until Wilsonart, Formica, et al figure out how to make this product more DIY-friendly i,e, an easier install without having to remove sink/faucet, which currently (for me) is $200 for the product but $1,000 for the install, plus $$$ for the plumber, this option isn’t happening.

Cathie, no matter what material you choose for a countertop you will encounter the same issue. If unable to do DIY (and I’m including myself) the biggest chunk of any project is the labor cost. That’s why so many of the reader’s projects featured here are so impressive. Not only did they retro renovate but they did it themselves.

I also like the comments by Ineffablespace and have this to add. Last summer when I remodeled my kitchen to return some of the MCM vibe that had been removed by previous owners, I decided I wanted a laminate counter top. From the looks I was given by a couple of contractors who bid on the complete job, you would have thought I had asked for the worst thing ever. I hired a contractor who “got” my vision, but he commented that trying to find a laminate countertop installer these days is getting more difficult. The 2 guys who showed up for the job were a trip down memory lane and houses from the 50’s & 60’s. They were both in their 60’s and talked about how they love it when they have a job installing laminate counters in a house and not a commercial establishment. The kitchen turned out great and everyone comments favorably on the counters when they see them for the first time.

Installing laminate is a relatively easy DIY task. And it can be installed over a preexisting laminate surface if it is still flat and well adhered. Study up on method, types of adhesive and safety precautions. Renovate safely, as Pam would say.

You can get Wilsonart and Formica countertops fabricated for you at The Home Depot. The cost is about $25 per square foot, installed, plus plumbing fees. These are the prices at a Jacksonville, FL store. Still about $10 per square foot less than low grade granite – and AWESOME!

What A lovely story, thank you. It’s great that you found people who “got it”. It gives me hope. I got a similar reaction from a contractor who asked me why nothing in their standard existing stock worked for me. It’s hard when you have a vision. Once your project is successfully completed, however, people often say things like, “I don’t usually care for retro, but this is lovely”, lol.

Neat! Been loving jungle-y decor for a long time & noticed too a lot more items in stores. The laminate on the wall is very reminiscent of the interior of the pink Beverly Hills hotel. Have you ever seen the Jungalow blog? She’s designed some pretty leafy retro looking wallpapers..love her boho style.

Where I’m from in the Midwest, all new construction uses laminate countertops, unless the homeowner “upgrades”. I used to work for a custom cabinet shop and unless you are buying in stock unit cabinets, it’s about the same price to buy custom cabinets as it is to buy OK unit cabinets. Same for laminate countertops most shops build their own and the price is similar to what the big box stores charge for their in stock cabinets.

I am a kitchen designer in a home improvement store. We still do a number of laminate countertops, mainly for bathrooms, rental units and restaurants. In 6 years I have done 3 in a boomerang pattern and 1 from Wilsonarts design library. If a customer is ordering a laminate countertop and paying to have it installed it will end up being about the same as granite. I also see many “before” photos which break my heart that they are being gutted.

OHHH! A nice wallpaper pattern rendered in laminate. I like plants and I really like this design but I think the large scale of the pattern lends itself more to expansive open walls. I could see this behind the washer and dryer but I think it would clash with the early American kitchen and its scale is too large for my small backsplash area.

Yes I’m seeing tropical EVERY WHERE and I’m totally hung up on it. Pool room, dining room and now into my bedroom! Found a couple of tropical lampshades at Home Goods and they are the jumping off point for the bedroom. Fabric Guru.com has got some interesting tropical prints at great prices.

The thing about this beautiful retro jungle pattern is: In a large run (have a look at the full sheet on the website) the repeats emerge and go ho-hum patterny, especially from a distance…..hijacking the eye and ruining the wild, natural esthetic so that it no longer has the soothing foliar lushness that’s so very pleasing about it when viewed up close.
So, best to use it for smallish areas (the walls in a little powder room, with bamboo poles in the corners and a thatch ceiling? And dig this: Recording of jungle sounds that starts up when the closed door pushes a button on the doorframe….) or larger areas that are broken up into small patches. That’s why it works so well in the approx. 3 X 5 foot expanse in Pam’s first picture up top.

I need a kitchen back splash. I’ll bet I could install this myself. I want something skinny to leave room for the faucet handle, anyway. I’m going for something appropriate in my 1956 house, but at the same time, I like to decorate like my haircuts: I try to make sure you can’t date a photo by the hairstyle.